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-   -   Sharks at Bathtub Beach, Florida (http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=9467)

flylow 03-24-2010 09:51 AM

Sharks at Bathtub Beach, Florida
 
On 3/24/10 Tuesday 50-60 sharks were off Bathtub Beach, Stuart Florida as seen from chopper south of "Kitebeach" Stuart, Fl. Looks like the migration might not be ended. Type unknown. Size 3-6 feet.
Last weekend there was a surf contest without incident. Just a heads up.
Probably we kite with these guys all the time?

ricki 03-24-2010 04:22 PM

Thanks for the heads up. Which way were they headed, north? Understand they head south and then turn around and go back up north.

flylow 03-24-2010 04:50 PM

Some times you can see alot of spinner sharks off the coast and a lone hammerhead in the group. Tuesday they were in small 3-4 small groups and were moving in different directions around the surf. It seems that near the Stuart Jetty on the north side a lone shark or two will hang out during the winter. I ain't around in the summer months. The water from the nuclear power plant futher up north draws the fishermen and an occasional shark. Not a great place to fall on a downwinder. However, on most flights up and down the coast it is not common to see them. It must be migration season and certain times when the water is warm that they appear near the shore? It seems to me that the water being clearer below Palm Beach enables you to spot them more easily on the way to Key West. Maybe a shark every mile. And then a day later see nothing but stingrays and porpoise. No sharks.
Hardly any attacks for the number of sharks in the migration and the number of people swimming or fishing near them is truely amazing.

ricki 03-24-2010 04:57 PM

You are the fellow flying the helicopter? If so, that is good to know. The guys in the sky can figure out a lot more about general trends than us folks at sea level at times. From what you describe, it sounds different from migrations I seen before where they are moving on masse in large numbers in one direction. Or maybe, it was just dinner time and they were looking for some chow? I've seen spinners more commonly in the Ft. Lauderdale area in the cooler months, at least outside of summer. I've had the impression that they may be more common up your way running northward past Sebastian. I believe they may run south in part driven by temperature gradients and at some point, return back north. The last time I noticed a good northerly migration it was northward around this time in March a couple of years back.

ricki 04-09-2010 09:40 PM

Still sightings from the air off Singer Island, Fl., April 8, 2010

"SINGER ISLAND, FL-- Several sharks are enjoying spring off the coast of Singer Island.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds were swimming offshore Thursday morning... not far from the shore.

Most were spinner or reef sharks. They were likely chasing bait fish.

Lifeguards closed two beaches as a result.

Wednesday a few bull sharks were seen swimming near the coast."

http://www.wptv.com/content/news/cen...UsrASHAbQ.cspx



and video at: http://www.wptv.com/mediacenter/loca...web.entriq.net

damion_dark 04-11-2010 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flylow (Post 44743)
Some times you can see alot of spinner sharks off the coast and a lone hammerhead in the group. Tuesday they were in small 3-4 small groups and were moving in different directions around the surf. It seems that near the Stuart Jetty on the north side a lone shark or two will hang out during the winter. I ain't around in the summer months. The water from the nuclear power plant futher up north draws the fishermen and an occasional shark. Not a great place to fall on a downwinder. However, on most flights up and down the coast it is not common to see them. It must be migration season and certain times when the water is warm that they appear near the shore? It seems to me that the water being clearer below Palm Beach enables you to spot them more easily on the way to Key West. Maybe a shark every mile. And then a day later see nothing but stingrays and porpoise. No sharks.
Hardly any attacks for the number of sharks in the migration and the number of people swimming or fishing near them is truely amazing.

What if someone did fall in that spot? You think they would be attacked?

flylow 04-15-2010 09:21 PM

Damium...not being a shark expert, but seeing the brutes, they are like snapping turtles who close their nictating membrane eyes and lunge at any thing near bye. If a group are feeding then like what happened to Steve may happen again. I know a lot of kiters have gone back to the Stuart ocean, but I'll bet they are not T bagging and are careful to stay on their boards going with powered winds. Why not go when the migration is over and decrease our chances of a shark mistake. Years ago during the Vietnam war, they did an experiment where they checked the soldiers hormone levels for fright vs students taking exams. The soldiers had lower levels then the students. Why? Because the soldiers believed the guy next to them would get shot while the students knew how much knowledge they lacked in taking the exams and knew they were going to flunk. So, thinking you are not going to be shark food when 50 are spotted off shore and kiting that day, is kind of risky business in my book. Your hormone levels may be low thinking like the soldiers...that you will live and the guy next to you will be bitten?
Where the hell are the shark experts when we need them? I think the migration must be over. Check with the locals?


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